It has been a busy summer for musician Mastodons, and earlier this month was no exception. From July 1 to 13, a group of former and current students traveled to Italy with Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo to attend the InterHarmony International Music Festival.
Dr. Tescarollo, director of Keyboard Studies at Purdue University Fort Wayne School of Music, served as a faculty member and guest instructor at the first of two sessions of the festival.
Located in Acqui Terme, Piedmont, Italy, the event is an intensive music camp where musicians from across the globe get the chance to play and study music with their international colleagues.
From Left: Christian Urizar, Olivia Bressler, Ben Morton (IU), Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo, and Allyn Beifus (Photos Courtesy: Dr. Tescarollo)
According to the festival organizers, cellist and current music director Misha Quint started what would become the InterHarmony Festival in 1997. In 2000, a name change was made and the InterHarmony International Music Festival came into being.
This year’s festival was held in Italy, but the location varies depending on the year. The festival’s website mentions other host countries as locations for previous camps, including the United States, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.
For Tescarollo, this year’s InterHarmony was his first time going to the camp.
He explained that he knew some of the camp faculty and had indicated interest in possibly attending the festival. When an invitation came to serve as a guest piano instructor for the camp, he jumped at the chance.
Tescarollo said his duties at the camp included teaching private piano lessons and instructing chamber music classes, as well as performing on the piano himself.
Tescarollo pointed out that the location of the festival gave students a unique opportunity to not only study music, but also to experience a new culture and new surroundings.
The town in which the camp was held, Acqui Terme, which means “Thermal Waters,” has been a site of relaxation and culture since the time of the Romans. Located just two hours away from Milan, students had the opportunity to go on excursions and see the historic and culinary heritage Italy has to offer.
PFW senior Christian Urizar at the piano during the festivalPFW music graduate Allyn Beifus playing at the festival
Joining Tescarollo in this international musical venture were four of his former and current piano students.
One PFW Mastodon who went on the trip was Allyn Beifus, a pianist and graduate of the School of Music.
She said one of her goals was to improve as a musician, while also getting to meet new people.
She offered an advice to students considering going abroad to study at an international music festival: “You will experience a trip of a lifetime at a place outside the country, experience the culture, and develop musicianship with the people around you that are participating in this event as well,” she said.
That spirit of excitement and curiosity to learn and study is what Tescarollo hopes students experience with international music festivals like InterHarmony.
He said the camp provided students with some amazing opportunities to learn and study music in an international setting.
“Basically, expand horizons and meet new people and make connections,” Tescarollo said.
The Purdue Fort Wayne School of Music has been bustling with activity this summer. Music camps have been in full swing, with opportunities available for musicians of all skill levels and interests.
But this month, PFW is offering a different kind of musical experience. On July 18-19, the School of Music will host Mastodon alumni for the fifth annual Purdue Fort Wayne Alumni and Friends Summer Chorus.
For chorus director William Sauerland, the event is a wonderful opportunity to build community and joy through singing.
“In part, this alumni choir is about creating a culture of care and community,” Sauerland said.
Sauerland, assistant professor of music and director of choral studies at PFW, began his position in 2019. Soon after, Sauerland conceived the idea of starting a summer chorus that would invite music graduates from the School of Music to return for a few days of choral training and singing. The summer chorus was launched in 2020.
Starting a choral experience during a global pandemic, however, was no easy task. Sauerland recalled the many precautions taken to ensure participants’ safety.
Before attending, participants were required to test themselves for COVID-19. During the event, they wore masks and were spaced eight feet apart in a large auditorium.
That first summer chorus drew roughly 30 participants and lasted for three days. The response was so enthusiastic that organizers decided to bring the event back the following year.
Now entering its fifth year, the summer chorus has seen new additions and changes that add variety and broaden its appeal.
PFW alumni return to sing, connect and inspire
One new tradition implemented by Sauerland is inviting a guest conductor to co-lead the ensemble. Last year, William Skoog, a former director of choral studies at PFW (then IPFW), joined Sauerland on the podium.
This year, a PFW alumnus Dan Borns will serve as guest conductor. A 2001 graduate of IPFW with a degree in choral music education, Borns currently works as a choir director for k-12 students in Batesville, Indiana.
Borns said enjoyed returning as a participant in the 2024 summer chorus.
“I hadn’t seen some of those people in 20 years,” Borns said. “That’s special.”
But Borns isn’t the only alum participating in this year’s chorus.
Teaching at PFW since 2008, Peggy Farlow is a senior lecturer in music therapy at the PFW School of Music. She’s also a proud Mastodon, having received her undergraduate degree in music therapy at IPFW.
She said that one of the great joys of the event is the opportunity to meet both old and new friends.
“You’re going to meet new friends,” Farlow said. “It’s amazing how much you end up having in common with people you’ve never met before.”
This will be her third time as a participant with the choir, and Farlow said she highly enjoys the musical and social experiences the choir has to offer.
That sense of community and just enjoying the entire experience is one of Sauerland’s goals for the summer chorus.
“We just have fun,” Sauerland said.
Although the chorus is centered around fun and connection with a community of Mastodons, there are also ambitious musical goals for the group.
Sauerland said he and Borns have selected six pieces of repertoire for the choir to learn over the two-day event. The lineup includes works such as “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell and “Elijah Rock,” arranged by Moses Hogan.
Singers prep for two-day musical challenge at PFW
Sauerland explained that there is a process for learning and preparing the repertoire in such a short time.
A few weeks before the event, Sauerland emails participants PDFs of the sheet music and audio links to recordings. This gives singers a head start on learning their parts ahead of the first rehearsal.
When the event begins on Friday afternoon, the choir will sing through all six pieces, accompanied on piano by PFW faculty member and limited term lecturer Geoffrey North.
After the initial read-through, Sauerland and Borns will decide how to structure Saturday’s rehearsal schedule.
On Saturday, the choir reconvenes for a fun-filled day of rehearsing and socializing, with both directors offering singing tips and feedback. That evening, the weekend wraps us with an informal concert, showcasing the music the group has learned.
Beyond the music, the weekend offers time for participants to reconnect and socialize. Saturday includes a lunch break and, after the rehearsal and concert, an optional group dinner.
Teachers become students at summer chorus
Sauerland noted that the summer chorus provides a unique opportunity for professional choir teachers and vocalists to experience music-making from the singer’s perspective, rather than from the conductor’s podium.
“This may be the one time in a year that those people can devote to being in the choir,” he said.
He added that, from his own experience as a choral director, getting the chance to be a vocalist in a choir is a great opportunity to observe and learn new approaches from other choral conductors.
“Everybody needs an experience where they’re in the seat of being a student,” he said.
Other music professionals agree. Alumna and music educator Lisa Farlow said the summer chorus is an opportunity to be a singer and musician, instead of serving as the teacher.
“It’s just a great way to be able to use your music skills,” she said.
In just a few weeks, the halls and classrooms of the School of Music will once again be filled with the uplifting sounds of voices raised in song. Both Mastodons and their friends will have a chance to walk through their old “stomping grounds” as they revisit the halls of musical academia.
Borns captured the spirit of this upcoming musical experience:
“Come be part of it and get a chance to sing some good music.”
The end of a busy day at Purdue University Fort Wayne usually sees a varying scene of homeward bound students, professors, and staff members.
An endless row of cars pours out of the exits of the campus. Buildings that resonated with the hum of scholars’ voices gradually fall silent as the twinkle of lights shine out in the gathering dusk. Night has wrapped the campus in a dark, comforting blanket as the day’s academic life comes to an end.
Or does it?
For at least some students and one professor on campus, dusk is the herald of a night’s work to begin, because it’s only at night that an earth-based telescope can begin traversing the heavens in its constant quest for knowledge. And PFW’s department of physics will soon begin their voyage of astronomical discovery with the “UFO Observatory.”
Many people would assume that “UFO” stands for “unidentified flying object.” But for PFW’s astronomers and astrophysicists, UFO actually means something closer to home – the “Undergraduate Fun Observatory.”
The story of the UFO observatory actually began almost a decade ago. In 2016, then-professor of physics Stephen Gillam had helped spearhead a project to create and deploy an observatory on the IPFW campus, according to a report from WANE15.
WANE15 reported that the total project came at a price tag of $27,000, but what the observatory had to offer was well worth the price.
The observatory consists of a large white dome that can slide open, revealing the 8-inch reflector telescope inside. Telescopes include a variety of designs and types, including reflector and refractor ones.
Installation of the observatory on campusPhotos Courtesy of Professor Eugenio UrsinoObservatory located at the roof of Parking Garage 3
According to NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, reflector telescopes use mirrors to help gather and focus star light that an astronomer can then see. This is a different process of light gathering versus a refractor telescope, which utilizes lenses, not mirrors, to gather and focus light.
PFW’s telescope is not large, but it provides students, staff, and the Fort Wayne public with a great opportunity to survey the cosmos.
Professor Eugenio Ursino, assistant professor of physics at PFW, explained that PFW’s observatory really serves two purposes: one for students, and one for the greater Fort Wayne community.
“It just makes sense that they learn how to use a telescope,” Ursino said about PFW physics students using the observatory. He explained that physics students who want to pursue their masters’ degrees in astronomy will be expected to know how to use a telescope.
Such knowledge could include something as simple as knowing where to point the telescope to see something in the cosmos or something as advanced as using a computer program to electronically control and “steer” a telescope.
But Ursino’s goals with the PFW observatory go beyond the classroom, as the telescope provides an integral part of the “Friday Night at the Observatory” program held on the PFW campus.
According to the PFW Department of Physics’ webpage, the third Friday of every month during the academic year sees the department of physics offer a program called “Friday Night at the Observatory.” During these events, which are open to anyone from the public, professors at PFW provide a lecture on a selected topic. Following the lecture, assuming the weather is amenable, attendees to the lecture are welcome to spend some time stargazing at the UFO Observatory.
At least, that was the idea.
Ursino mentioned that the original location of the UFO Observatory was not ideal for stargazing, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the observatory was located outdoors across St. Joe Road, behind the PFW Surplus Center store on the eastern side of campus. That location, next to a parking lot in a grassy field, was susceptible to mud, making a trek to the observatory an uncomfortable and wet experience for stargazing lovers.
Yet another issue was that of temperature. Since the observatory is an outdoor affair, using the telescope during the colder months of the year was not the most pleasant experience.
But those issues are set to become problems of the past.
Just this year, the observatory has moved to a new location on top of Parking Garage 3. That’s a major improvement, because it means visitors to the observatory can now simply park their cars in the garage and walk on solid, non-muddy concrete to the telescope.
But wait, there’s more.
One of the features of the observatory since its inception has been the ability of users to control the telescope via a computer. Ursino described how the idea was that users could remotely control the movements of the telescope and observe galactic phenomena without needing to be physically present. Unfortunately, over time, the various pieces of equipment broke down or needed replacing.
Thankfully, a new computer has been added to the observatory’s technical arsenal, and Ursino is working towards making the observatory remotely controllable. This is a big achievement for the Friday Night at the Observatory program, because it means attendees to the program get a chance to stargaze from the comforts of the indoor lecture hall.
Professor Ursino mentioned that there are several other future astronomy projects and updates in the works for the UFO observatory and the department. Work is still being completed on making sure all the electronics and power systems are operational for the observatory.
For Ursino, the goal of the observatory for PFW’s students is simple:
“Student[s] engaged in simple research,” he said when asked about the impact of the observatory.
That simple research is just the tip of the iceberg for the UFO observatory, as it helps students and Fort Wayne reach for the stars and beyond.
A top notch facility. Collegiate level instruction. And the chance to get your hands on professional-level audio equipment and produce original recordings.
That’s what is being offered, and more, at the Music Technology Camp, coming up July 14-17 at the PFW Sweetwater Music Center. Located just a stone’s throw away from the renown Sweetwater company headquarters, the PFW Sweetwater Music Center will be hosting a group of young students interested in the ins and outs of music technology.
“I see it as an outreach to what students know about career paths that they might never have heard about before,” professor John Buteyn said.
He’s the man for the job when it comes to all things music and technology related. Buteyn is currently clinical assistant professor of music at PFW’s School of Music and the director of the Music Technology Camp. In addition to his classroom teaching, he also helps lead PFW’s very own music recording label, Gold Top Music Group.
For Buteyn, the Music Technology Camp is a way to expose pre-college students to what careers and opportunities exist in the music field. He explained that high school students may not know the variety and depth of career opportunities available to musicians today.
However, when Buteyn first came to PFW in 2020, there was no Music Technology Camp to offer.
At the time Buteyn was settling in as a professor at PFW, folks at Fort Wayne Community Schools were looking for new opportunities for summer camps they could offer to students who were part of the GEAR UP program.
According to Buteyn, GEAR UP is a program for high school students in the Fort Wayne Community Schools system that helps students navigate their time through high school. That assistance can include such things as mentorship, scholarship programs, and visits to various prospective colleges at which the students may decide to enroll after graduating from high school.
When the Community Arts Academy learned of the interest the GEAR UP program had in a new music summer camp, they approached Buteyn about possibly creating a camp to meet that need. Buteyn jumped at the opportunity and the Music Technology Camp was born.
“I saw a need for it and offered it,” Buteyn said.
Now in its fourth year, the camp offers students diverse opportunities to use technology in the professional music technology field. And those experiences begin on day one of the camp.
Buteyn explained that on the first day, he spends time getting to know the students, their interests, and what they hope to learn or accomplish.
“When they first walk in the door, we’ll just spend a little bit of time getting to know one another,” Buteyn said. “You want people to feel comfortable when they’re in a creative space.”
From that first meeting, Buteyn learns about the students’ music experiences and what music they may have played or even written.
At the end of their first full day, students will have created a plan for what they want to do. It could be doing a recorded performance of a song that a commercial band has already recorded. Alternatively, the students may want to give free reign to their creative abilities and write their own unique song.
Whichever route the students decide to go, by the end of their first day they have become familiar with their surroundings, they know what they would like to record, and they’re ready to begin the whirlwind process of performing, recording, editing, and mixing an actual song.
Days two and three see Buteyn, his college helpers from the PFW School of Music, and the student campers busy at work making their creative vision a reality. The PFW Sweetwater Music Center is fully equipped for any recording situation, including musical instruments, professional recording studios, and capable computers that can record, edit, and mix the final music product.
Recording a piece of music takes a lot of work and effort, including figuring out how to properly mic the instruments so the end result is a pleasing composition to the ear. Sometimes, the students have to record a piece of music or even a section of a song multiple times to get just the right “take.”
But the students’ job isn’t finished with the completion of the recording. Once the recording is done, the students learn how to edit the recording until it meets their musical expectations.
To get that editing done, Buteyn introduces the camp attendees to different software packages used for computer editing of recordings. These software packages, called “Digital Audio Workstations” or DAWs for short, are standard pieces of software used in the industry. Programs like Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and other DAWs are all possible software options that students can use and learn during their time at camp.
By the end of the camp on day four, the students have written, recorded, edited, mixed, and completed their very own recording of a song that they can then show their friends and family. To help celebrate that achievement, camp finishes on a high note with students having lunch at Sweetwater’s Downbeat Diner.
Buteyn said that the camp is open to any students in grades 9-12. Typically, students come from area high schools like Snider, Northrop, or Homestead. Student campers are allowed to bring their own instruments with them if they like, but the camp has many instruments available for use by the campers.
July 14-17 will be a whirlwind of activity for Buteyn, his collegiate student helpers, and the student attendees. The camp gives them a great opportunity to experience so much of what music professionals in the industry do as a career. With professional tools, coaching, and a learning environment centered on meeting students’ interests and goals, the Music Technology Camp will open the music doors of the future to the student musicians of today.
For more information about the Music Technology Camp, contact Professor John Buteyn at jbuteyn@pfw.edu. For more information about all the various camps offered by the Community Arts Academy or scholarship opportunities for these camps, contact Molly Papier, Director of the Community Arts Academy, at mpapier@pfw.edu.
The long hallways of PFW’s Music Center glisten in the morning sunshine. A seemingly endless row of doors line one side of the thoroughfare. Inside most of those doorways are pianos, all of which wait expectantly. This week, close to two dozen talented student pianists will be entering those doors and vigorously practicing on those pianos as part of the Gene Marcus Piano Camp & Festival.
Running from June 8-13, the camp offers an immersive experience with daily lessons and activities, including workshops, masterclasses, evening recitals, and group sessions.
This year, students coming to the camp were treated on opening day to a faculty recital Sunday evening followed by orientation and other information. For the next five days, the young pianists-in-residence will follow an invigorating schedule of piano study, taking piano lessons, playing and studying piano music, attending lectures by guest teachers, and attending masterclasses taught by faculty.
Previous edition of the Gene Marcus Piano Camp & Festival (Photo: Community Arts Academy)
One of the many offerings at the camp is the chance to study with a guest artist – an expert in the field of piano playing and performing. This year’s artist is Thomas “TJ” Lymenstull, a graduate of the prestigious Eastman School of Music and a newly-retired faculty member from the Interlochen Academy of the Arts.
He will be performing a solo recital of repertoire on Monday, June 9, at Rinehart Recital Hall, as well as teaching a masterclass for the camp attendees.
Masterclasses are a unique opportunity for students to receive one-on-one instruction from a well-known specialist in the field. Lymenstull’s masterclass is only one of several such classes which students will be taking at the camp.
Now entering its 14th year, the Gene Marcus Piano Camp was founded and organized by PFW’s own Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo, now director of Keyboard Studies for the PFW School of Music.
Tescarollo explained that when he first came to PFW in 2007 as a new professor of piano, one of the first objectives he was asked to accomplish was to create a summer music camp for young pianists. And he was happy to tackle the challenge.
“It all started with encouraging piano playing in the area and beyond,” he said.
That love of encouraging piano playing is not new among PFW School of Music faculty. In fact, the entire reason such an event is even possible is due to a generous endowment that a former PFW music faculty member left to the school for such a purpose, Wilda “Gene” Marcus.
Tescarollo explained that Marcus had taught for roughly twenty years at PFW (then Indiana University -Purdue University Fort Wayne, or IPFW). A piano teacher with the then-department of Music faculty, Marcus had been heavily involved with the music life and scene of Fort Wayne.
In 2005, Marcus passed away, leaving an endowment to PFW’s School of Music to continue the effort of providing opportunities for young pianists.
Starting with his arrival at PFW in 2007, Tescarollo crafted and launched the brand new Gene Marcus Piano Camp in 2012 as one of the offerings provided by the College of Visual and Performing Arts through their Community Arts Academy.
Tescarollo and the other faculty of the camp are now hard at work getting ready to welcome pianists from all across the country.
Students attend a previous edition of the Gene Marcus Piano Camp & Festival (Photo: Community Arts Academy)
“From the first one [camp], we had already opened it up to students from anywhere essentially,” Tescarollo said. “It is both a commuter camp and a residential camp.”
Attendees will consist of both commuters coming every day to study and residential campers who stay on campus in the PFW dormitory facilities. The cost for attending the camp ($450 – $550) includes lunch and dinner throughout the week.
Students come with some repertoire that they are ready to share in a public performance. Faculty at the camp then work with the students to polish that repertoire.
But students are learning more than how to polish their already-learned repertoire. In the course of a week, students will get a chance to watch and listen to guest artist recitals.
Some of the recitals are played by faculty teaching at the camp, including Dr. Jonathan Young, Christine Freeman, and Susan Dorion. Still other recitals will be played by young, up-and-coming piano artists, including Allyn Beifus and Andrew Nestler, both recent graduates and piano majors at the PFW School of Music.
Camp life, though, includes more than just piano study. New this year, students will have the opportunity to go kayaking right on the PFW campus. Friday afternoon, the last day of the camp, students will get the opportunity to walk around campus and celebrate the completion of a week of piano study.
The culmination of all that work? A concert Friday evening played by the student pianists of learned repertoire at the camp.
That final Friday performance of repertoire in front of one’s peers is part of the unique experiences provided at the Gene Marcus Piano Camp. As Tescarollo explained, one of the goals of the week is to give students experience in playing and performing their repertoire, both for each other and for their families.
Performing repertoire can be a daunting experience, but receiving instruction and tips from experienced performing pianists is part of what these student pianists will gain by attending.
“The idea is to inspire them to then practice and do this for the rest of the year,” Tescarollo stated. For him, encouraging piano students in their study and appreciation of the instrument is the key goal of the piano camp. And the camp attendees are responding very favorably to that encouragement.
“Many students come back over and over as much as possible [to the camp],” Tescarollo said.
Part of the experience that the camp offers student pianists is an opportunity to learn and grow as pianists.
“In some cases, there might be students who have never done a duet,” Tescarollo said. He explained that this camp provides students with an opportunity to learn and grow, but in a learning environment where they get to meet other like-minded young pianists who are also eager to learn.
That opportunity to get to meet and study with other young pianists is one of the great aspects of the camp.
“I hear about them keeping in touch throughout the year and they become friends,” Tescarollo said. “That’s a pretty wonderful thing.”
June 8-13 is just one short week that will come and go in the blink of the eye. But for the young pianists attending the Gene Marcus Piano Camp, that one week can influence them to greater artistic endeavors for a lifetime.
That’s the day when America will take a brief pause in the hustle and bustle of daily living to thank the countless men and women of the United States armed forces for their service in protecting and defending the freedoms we all enjoy.
Some of those men and women are still alive to receive our thanks. Others paid the ultimate price and will never see their loved ones again except in eternity.
After Memorial Day comes May 27, a Tuesday, with life returning back to “normal.”
But the veterans are still there. And they still need support.
The US Department of Labor reports on the webpage of their Transition Assistance Program that, every year, roughly 200,000 men and women depart from the US armed forces and re-enter the civilian world.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs reports that in 2018 alone, 669,922 US military veterans took advantage of the benefits the VA offers to advance their education.
But there’s a lot of drastic life changes that accompany a military veteran’s switch from military life to civilian life.
PurdueFort Wayne’s Office of Military Student Services/Facebook Page
Dr. Michael Kirchner, a professor of Organizational Leadership at PFW and one of four faculty members recognized with a 2025 featured faculty award, knows what it’s like to transition from the military into college life.
He’s done that. He’s a veteran.
Currently, Kirchner is an associate professor and the graduate program director for PFW’s Department of Organizational Leadership. But his journey to becoming a professor and working with military veterans began with his own military service in the early 2000s.
Kirchner joined the army national guard in 2001, right before the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon building. Three years later, in 2004, Kirchner’s unit was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq.
At the time, Kirchner was enrolled in college at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. However, his deployment delayed his college work by a year.
Returning home, Kirchner needed some time to recuperate from his experience.
“When you’re serving in a combat zone, you’re always ‘on’,” Kirchner said.
He explained that, when you’re deployed, you really don’t relax or goof off much. It’s strictly business, and a deadly one at that.
“We’re about 7-8 months into the deployment, and I’m going, ‘I can’t think of a day in the last 4 months where I haven’t at least heard explosions or gunfire’,” Kirchner reminisced.
Returning home from that experience, Kirchner said the biggest challenge was simply shutting down his deployment mindset.
“To return home and all of a sudden be expected to just shut down and return to normal, that’s a tall-ask,” he said.
Kirchner’s life eventually found him working with other military veterans who were transitioning from military to civilian life, particularly that of the college world. During Kirchner’s time as a student at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, he was tapped to help create a veterans’ student organization at the university. In three months, over 50 vets had signed up for the organization, and that was what really began Kirchner’s passion for working with veterans in the collegiate world.
Kirchner detailed some of the challenges that veterans face when they transition from a military life to the civilian life found on college campuses like PFW.
Some vets that enroll in college are still coming to terms with their experiences in combat zones and deployments. Others face a major cultural shift as they leave the camaraderie of the military and enter a new, strange civilian world devoid initially of that military companionship.
“They lose that brotherhood and that community that they built in the military,” Nicole Welsh said.
She is the Senior Compliance Officer for PFW’s Office of Military Student Services. Although not a veteran herself, Welsh grew up with much of her family having served in the military, so she has familiarity with what the military veteran experience is like.
Nicole WelshMichael Kirchner
Welsh expanded on the concept of lost military companionship for military veteran students.
“They come in here as non-traditional students who have already had a full career,” she said. “[They] have already lived a very different life than most people on this campus.”
But it’s not just the military culture that student vets miss when they come to PFW. They also have to deal with a lost sense of purpose.
“When you serve, you have a very clear understanding of your job,” Professor Kirchner said.
He explained that, when someone serves in the military, the goals of the job are very clearly laid out. The outcome of a job and its impact on the overall unit are equally understood. However, when a person leaves the military and becomes a civilian, they can face a crisis of trying to establish their new identity.
“When you lose that, you lose part of your identity and your purpose, Kirchner reiterated.
One parallel Kirchner used to explain this loss of identity is to that of someone who retires from a career in the civilian world. That person’s career can become a big part of who they are and how they define themselves as a person. When they retire, they undergo a similar experience to that of military veterans in trying to re-establish what their identity in life is.
In spite of all the challenges that military veterans may face when shifting to a civilian lifestyle after the miliary, there are many resources which can help smooth the transition.
One of those resources is PFW’s Military Student Services. Welsh mentioned that her office helps military vet students work through all of the various benefits offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (frequently called the “VA), as well as tuition assistance.
“We go through those benefits and help them get through some of those loops and red tape that they see with the VA and with tuition assistance,” Welsh explained. “And we help guide them through that process just to make it easier.”
Welsh mentioned that the Office of Military Student Services is quite small. The entire staff for the office consists of only herself, her immediate supervisor, and six student employees, most of whom are military vets themselves.
Together, that small team serves the needs of nearly 200 military veteran students on the PFW campus.
Christian Long (L) and Bryce Evans (R)
What those military veterans want to pursue as a career or field of study following their military service varies by the individual. One of the student workers at the Military Student Services is Bryce Evans, a history major.
Evans spent eight years in the US Navy, serving aboard submarines. When he completed his military service, he was ready to tackle a new life challenge.
“When I tapped out, I was done as far as military services goes,” Evans mentioned. “I wanted to come back to civilian life and focus on that and start a new chapter.”
Evans explained that his transition to civilian life was relatively easy, since he spent the latter portion of his military service on shore duty, allowing him to re-integrate with the civilian world gradually. He began his college career by taking classes online at PFW in August of 2023, right before he officially completed his military service in October of that year.
However, as Evans mentioned, the transition from military to civilian life can vary depending on the individual. One student worker at the Military Student Services office is a current, active-duty soldier, Christian Long.
Long is serving in the army national guard, as well as the PFW US Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program offered on campus. He is in a unique place in life, as he takes on the challenges of being both a soldier and a full-time student.
“So, it feels like I’m always around army or military stuff, but then I go home at night and it’s not,” Long said. He explained that serving as a soldier and studying as a full-time student was like having two personalities that he switched between depending on what was being asked of him.
“You have two different information sets in your mind,” Long said.
Students Long and Evans, and Professor Kirchner took different routes in the military and tread various pathways to enter college. However, they all agreed that the Military Student Services office at PFW is a great resource to help all military veterans succeed in their transition to a civilian life.
“PFW’s military student services and our financial aid offices are great starting points to help military-affiliated students including their dependents understand the programs that might be available,” Kirchner pointed out.
But even with offices like the Military Student Services, PFW’s student veterans still face some challenges.
One challenge is that the office suite of Military Student Services is simply hard to find. Tucked away in one of the farthest corners of the oldest classroom building on campus, Kettler Hall, the office feels very removed and remote from the rest of the campus.
Military Student Services – Front DeskMilitary Student Services – Lounge
“If more people knew where our office was, it would be great,” Long said. “You have to walk past all these people getting back here.”
Long isn’t kidding. To get to Military Student Services, one has to follow a lengthy hallway that feels miles long as it wends its way in serpentine fashion past countless administrative offices. A few signs point out the direction where the Office is located, but one feels as if they were violating a university policy to walk back so far into the warren of office suites.
The isolated location of the Office of Military Student Services isn’t the only challenge Welsh and her team face.
The office suite for Military Student Services is quite small. Although there is a little bit of room for students to come back and study or relax, the quarters are a bit cramped. A few tiny rooms serve as spots where students can come and study or hold consultations, but large gatherings are not really possible.
The remoteness and small area of the Military Student Services office also impact efforts to network military veteran students with civilian students.
Student workers Long and Evans both explained that even though the office suite is the Military Student Services area, they are very open to talking and interacting with veteran and non-veteran students like.
“Anybody can come hang out or ask questions or just chat,” Long mentioned.
Evans commented that it would be great if there could be a military lounge or area in a more publicly visible space that would allow both military veterans and civilian students to stop by and interact freely.
Professor Kirchner agreed that a bigger lounge area would be helpful to military veterans transitioning to the civilian life.
“One of those big aspects of veterans’ transition experience that is a challenge is that lost camaraderie,” Kirchner explained. “Well, without a social lounge, it’s difficult to regain that.”
Senior Compliance Officer Welsh, the student veterans who work at Military Student Services, and Professor Kirchner, are quite appreciative of having a space dedicated to serving the needs of student veterans. However, a bigger space in a more well-trafficked area of campus would give Welsh and her team a double opportunity.
A larger area with a bigger social lounge would help provide a space for student military vets to rebuild their social camaraderie that they left when retiring from the military. Additionally, a large space would give the new PFW chapter of the Student Veterans of America organzation a more accessible place to meet and welcome civilian and military students.
Although challenges remain for military veterans transitioning to civilian life at universities, PFW, under the careful mentorship and guidance of Professor Kirchner and Nicole Welsh, is positioned to reach out and help a variety of military veterans and their dependents.
But perhaps most importantly, the Military Student Services and their activities are helping to bridge the gap between the life experiences of military veterans and civilian students. Thanks to Welsh and her team, efforts are now in place to help establish networks and friendships for students of both military and civilian background.
May 26, 2025, will come and go. But PFW’s military veteran students will continue to be remembered and supported.
For Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Class of 2025, this year’s commencement ceremony is more than the culmination of a college education—it is a long-awaited celebration of resilience. Today at 4 p.m., about 800 students are expected to graduate at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, many of whom never got the chance to walk the stage at their high school graduation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is very important to me,” said Bayley McDonald, a senior graduating with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in communication studies. “It was really disappointing to miss out on my prom, musical, and graduation ceremony. I invited as many family and friends as possible.”
For students like McDonald, this commencement represents a sense of redemption—an opportunity to make meaningful memories before taking their next steps into the workforce or graduate school.
PFW currently serves a student body of 6,811, offering over 200 academic majors and a tight-knit community that many students say helped shape their futures. About 1,400 students are on track to receive a degree this academic year.
Sadie Fenstermacher, a senior majoring in communication and pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in film, says the university’s support has been invaluable.
“I think PFW has prepared me pretty well,” Fenstermacher said. “Not just academically, but through clubs and extracurriculars related to my major.” She plans to take a year off before beginning graduate school.
The support students receive goes beyond the classroom. Zoe Busse, a biology major with a minor in criminal justice who is expected to graduate in 2029, credits her academic advisor with helping her navigate coursework and internships.
“My advisor has been a great help when it comes to what courses to take and internships that would be great for me to partake in,” Busse said.
Internships are a graduation requirement for many programs at PFW, providing students with hands-on experience in their field—and often leading to job opportunities. McDonald is currently interning at Allen County Adult Probation and hopes to transition into a full-time role.
“I plan to stay here over the summer and hopefully become a PSI Writer,” she said.
Fenstermacher, meanwhile, will be interning at the Cinema Center, a local nonprofit cinema whose executive director is PFW professor Art Herbig. The venue has become a hub for film and production students.
PFW’s Career Development Center also plays a pivotal role in preparing students for life after graduation.
Jackie Stancil, the center’s executive director, encourages students to start career planning early, including resume building and interview practice using tools like “Big Interview,” a platform designed to simulate job interviews and give students feedback on their performance.
“Students who engage in the career office early and often are not only more likely to get the job they want—they make more money than those who didn’t use the Career Center,” Stancil said.
While the future may be uncertain for some graduates, the university’s resources, mentorship, and community have laid a strong foundation for what comes next. As McDonald and her classmates prepare to walk the stage, they do so with pride, hope, and a sense of fulfillment that was years in the making.
Congratulations to the Class of 2025—your journey is just beginning.
Downtown Fort Wayne’s only boutique hotel, The Bradley, is doubling as a gallery space for Purdue Fort Wayne artists, thanks to an ongoing partnership that lets students and alumni showcase their work in one of the city’s most visible venues.
Over the past few years, downtown Fort Wayne has seen a wave of growth, with new restaurants, shops, and park renovations creating a vibrant atmosphere. Among the highlights is The Bradley, a boutique hotel that opened in July 2021 and quickly became a cultural touchstone—not just for its design, but for its commitment to supporting local art.
The Bradley was developed in partnership between West Coast-based Provenance Hotels and Barbara Baekgaard, co-founder of the Vera Bradley Foundation and a key figure in the hotel’s creation. Since its opening, the hotel has offered a unique opportunity for Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) artists: ten curated art frames in one of its hallways, reserved exclusively for rotating displays of student and alumni artwork.
Rebecca Coffman, chair of PFW’s Department of Art and Design, says that it is a very cooperative partnership, but sometimes a laboring process. They put together a selection of works and send them to the Provenance Hotels team, who makes the final picks.
There are no strict guidelines for what type of art is selected. According to Mason Thomas, a sales manager at The Bradley, the hotel looks for pieces that simply “fit the mood.” The limited space—just ten frames—means not every submission can be displayed, but Coffman says the results have been rewarding.
“We’ve been able to show off some really beautiful photography, prints, and drawings in that limited space,” she said.
For PFW students and alumni, the exposure can be a career-boosting experience. Much like the university’s annual student exhibition, the partnership with The Bradley gives emerging artists the chance to have their work publicly viewed—and critiqued—in a high-profile setting.
“It’s just going to be an empty hallway,” Thomas said. “Might as well allow these students to promote their work, promote themselves, and promote their art. It’s great.”
The artwork on display rotates every few months, ensuring that new voices and visions are consistently featured. Whether you’re visiting Fort Wayne for the first time or planning a staycation, a stop by The Bradley offers more than just boutique accommodations—it’s also a window into the creative heart of the community.
Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Q Center hosted its annual “Everybody Say Love Dinner” on Feb. 13, bringing together LGBTQ+ students, allies, and community members for an evening of food, music, and fun.
The event, which was held in the Walb Student Union, provided a space for attendees to celebrate Valentine’s Day with their friends and family while enjoying a free Mediterranean meal.
The dinner has been held annually at PFW since 2020, growing in size each year. The primary goal of the event is to create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ students, especially for those who may feel isolated during the romantic season of Valentine’s Day.
“It’s an inclusive Valentine’s event where anyone can bring their chosen family, friends, or loved ones,” said Mitchell Fiandt, program assistant for the Q Center. “It’s all about sharing a meal and feeling a sense of belonging.”
This year’s event featured catering by Smile More Catering, a business run by a former PFW student, Terel Lynn, who the Q Center has worked with for previous events.
“We always try to partner with people we trust, and Terel knows the campus well,” Fiandt said.
The Mediterranean-themed menu included pitas, naan, chicken kebabs, and rice dishes, appealing to a diverse range of dietary preferences.
The event’s popularity has surged this year, with RSVP numbers reaching capacity.
“Last year, we ran out of food, so we implemented an RSVP system this time,” Fiandt explained. “We have about 60 people signed up, and we might still run out.”
The growing attendance numbers highlight the desire for community and support among LGBTQ+ students on campus.
Attendees expressed their appreciation for the event’s welcoming atmosphere. Alexander Egonoza, a community member and part of the LGBTQ+ community, emphasized the importance of such gatherings.
“This event is a great opportunity for LGBTQ+ individuals to enjoy themselves, especially given the current challenges our community faces,” he said. “Events like this show that PFW is a welcoming place.”
Korian Johnson, a PFW student and self-described ally, praised the event for bringing people together.
“It gives me an opportunity to talk with friends and have a good time,” he said. “It’s special because it provides a space for members of a marginalized community to share their experiences and bond over a meal.”
Beyond the meal itself, the Everybody Say Love Dinner aligns with Purdue Fort Wayne’s broader diversity and inclusion initiatives, with the event representing the melting pot of the PFW community coming together.
“We have international students, queer students of color, faculty, and even community members attending,” Fiandt said. “It’s great to see so many different backgrounds coming together in a safe and welcoming environment.”
With the backdrop of romantic music playing, attendees shared conversations, laughter, and a sense of community. As the event ended, it was clear that the Everybody Say Love Dinner was more than just a meal; it was a celebration of acceptance and togetherness.
Revolution is breaking out on Purdue University Fort Wayne’s campus. Or, at least, the study of it.
Students taking Dr. Richard Weiner’s class on 20th Century Latin American Revolutions get to dive deep and analyze the complex world surrounding that region during the last century.
According to Dr. Weiner, a professor in the department of history, this course is offered only once every two years. Students in the class examine these revolutions from a global perspective as they seek to understand the big factors that influenced the context of the conflicts.
“During the Cold War,” Dr. Weiner said, “Latin America was much more on America’s radar.”
The poster taped to Dr. Weiner’s door describing his class on revolution in Latin America appears rather academic. A black text block at the top of the poster lists the web and social media info for the PFW history program. Slightly above the title on the poster is a listing of the semester and course number for the class, with a longer description of requirements the course satisfies.
But what really catches the eye of passers by is the stark photograph of a young Fidel Castro. Clad in military fatigues, a rifle slung over his shoulder, he is depicted in his jungle surroundings as he prepared to overthrow the Cuban government and establish what would become the communist dictatorship of Cuba.
“There’s always been someone coming from outside and trying to run the show in Cuba,” Dr. Weiner said as we discussed his class.
But Cuba isn’t the only focus for Dr. Weiner’s class. Countries throughout Latin America who have experienced revolution are also studied, including Mexico, Chile, and Nicaragua. Students taking the class dive deep into the circumstances of these revolutions and the varying results these countries experienced following the revolution.
The class takes the approach of analyzing these revolutions comparatively, seeking to understand what made each one unique and different from those in other Latin American countries.
Although the photograph on the poster helps promote the course to the random passerby, Dr. Weiner said he likes to use images while teaching his class, as they give students a sense of what was happening during those historic moments.
The poster on Dr. Weiner’s door may offer only a glimpse into one revolution of one country – a revolution that shook the geopolitical world for decades. But, thanks to opportunities like this class, Dr. Weiner’s students will take a wealth of knowledge and understanding with them to help form the foundations of tomorrow.
